What happened
While performing a takeoff roll on runway 24 at Besançon-La Vèze Airport, the pilot observed that the aircraft was failing to reach the necessary acceleration. In response to this performance issue, the crew elected to abort the takeoff. Despite attempting emergency braking maneuvers, the aircraft could not stop before reaching the end of the runway.
Approximately 30 meters beyond the runway threshold, the aircraft collided with an embankment measuring 2.4 meters in height. The impact caused the plane to burst into flames upon coming to a halt. The accident resulted in two fatalities among the crew and one serious injury to a passenger.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the primary reason for the accident was the delayed decision to abort the takeoff, which occurred while the parking brake had not been entirely released. Several contributing elements were identified during the inquiry:
- The crew did not properly execute the pre-flight checklist, which prevented them from detecting the mechanical anomaly during the initial stages of the roll.
- Adverse weather conditions forced the pilot to focus heavily on maintaining the runway centerline, reducing their ability to monitor other instruments and making it difficult to notice the lack of acceleration against external landmarks.
- The placement of the brake warning light was positioned outside the pilot's primary field of vision during the takeoff sequence.